Happy (belated) blogeversary

Hi from Southern California.

I know what you're thinking.  You have visions of sun.  But it's actually kind of windy and chilly here.  And today it was sleeting.  The sad truth is that I've gained 100 degrees, and it's still not warm enough.

So, for about the last week and a half I've been not in Alaska.  This has involved way too much time with my parents and brother in the small enclosed space of the rental car, going on several beautiful hikes, attending the Arizona Baha'i conference, and visiting my Grandma's house.  That's where I am right now.  Blogging to you from a computer connected to the internet with a dial up connection.*

And so this is basically the first time I've been on a computer in about that length of time.  And this seclusion from technology made me miss a very important date.

MY ONE YEAR BLOGEVERSARY!

So, happy anniversary blog.  And happy anniversary blog readers.  I'm glad you guys exist.  You are my inspiration for writing.  Well... you, and all the random jumbled up thoughts I have in my head that like to be expressed through writing.  But you definitely motivate me.


*Wherein I am learning the very important lesson of patience.

It is okay

I have this friend who's a psychology major.*  And she's so freaking smart and motivated, and she knows she's going to get her doctorate in psychology.  I mean, that's at least 10 years worth of certainty.

Last year I didn't decide where I was going to college until mid-April.  Everyone around me knew long before then.  They applied to such and such school because of this or that program, and in general they just knew what they were doing.  On the other hand, I applied to University of Oregon because their mascot was a duck, Lewis and Clark because in the college guidebook I checked out of the library it said that at L&C "a lot of the students have curly hair and wear bandanas," and UAF because it was further away than UAA.

I am aimless.  Have you ever noticed the title of my blog?  I am an aspiring... something.  Something.  I haven't figured it out yet.  I work hard, but I don't really have any idea what exactly I am working towards.

And I forget that it's okay to be aimless sometimes.  Actually, I forget that a lot of the time.  So then I have to remind myself that IT IS OKAY.

It is okay that you can quote practically all of Ella Enchanted,** and that you've seen almost every Vlogbrother video, and that you were the founding member of an anonymous flirting website for your college campus, but you haven't figured out what you want to be when you grow up.

And because I forget this very fact all the time, I wrote myself a letter.

Dear Future Elika,
Do not forget that being aimless and clueless and unsure is okay.  As long as you are upholding your morals and generally working towards the betterment of the world, you are doing good.  Also, do not forget that libraries are better than bookstores, Converse are better than fancy-pants shoes, and lava lamps are cool.
Sincerely,
Elika at a moment in time where she was remarkably clear-headed







*I promised I would write about her on my blog at some point because I looooooooove her.

**The book, not the movie.  Duh.